MOREHEAD CITY – The owners of a senior living facility in CarteretCounty have cited “economic events” for a closure that is forcing out its residents by Aug. 30.

The closing of HarborviewTowers in MoreheadCity has Dan Ericksen looking for a new home for his 99-year-old mother-in-law, who has lived at the facility for six years.

“We’ve got to find a place for her, which we are working to do now; and at 99 years old it’s going to be hard to find a place she will be comfortable with. It’s hard to believe, it really is,” he said.

Ericksen said HarborviewTowers has about 50 units and is currently occupied by 25 or so residents, with the ages ranging from the mid-80s to a resident who is 102.

The closing does not affect adjacent Harborview Rehabilitation & Health Care, which continues to provide short-term rehabilitation and nursing care to its residents.

But the issue goes beyond the move.

Senior Care Properties Inc. purchased the rehabilitation center from the Jernigan family several years ago while Harborview Towers remains under the ownership of Harborview Enterprises LLC, with family member John “Ron” Jernigan serving as president.

Jernigan said in a statement that the company has looked for ways to continue operations of HarborviewTowers, including the sale of the property, but a solution has not been reached.

“Both Harborview Enterprises LLC and the Jernigan family are saddened by the economic events that have created the current situation,” Jernigan said in a written statement. “The company and the Jernigans have worked for many years to make HarborviewTowers a place that is loved and cherished by its residents and their families. The turmoil in the real estate market in recent years has been devastating to HarborviewTowers. The Jernigan family has personally contributed substantial sums to the company to allow its operations to continue in hopes that the situation would improve. Unfortunately this did not occur. Following that, the company has spent many months exploring various alternatives that would allow for the continued operations of HarborviewTowers, including the possible sale of the facility. The company was not able to achieve a viable solution along these lines.”

Senior Care Properties Inc. has been interested in purchasing HarborviewTowers but no agreement has been reached.

A July 19 letter to current and former residents or their representatives notifying them of the closing outlines a series or correspondence and meetings that have taken place indicating “significant issues” that could result in the closure.

It also notes two options residents were presented with after a June 8 meeting to reach a compromise that could make the sale to Senior Care properties possible.

Ericksen said the options presented in a letter from Senior Care Properties would have changed the terms of the original contracts.

His mother-in-law paid a $144,000 occupancy fee when she moved in, and the agreement is that she’d get 80 percent of that back within two years of vacating the unit.

Proposed option 1 was that residents or their estate wait for the payback until their individual units are sold, negating the two-year limit. The other option was for the company to pay 30 percent of paybacks when the purchase closed.

There had to be unanimous support for one of the options and there was not.

Ericksen said Option 1 could mean an indefinite wait and the other would have meant less of a refund.

And now, with the closing, the residents may not get any money back.

Ericksen said he’s aware of at least six lawsuits that have been filed for breach of contract and his family is now considering legal action.

Jernigan said there have been ongoing efforts to keep residents informed of the situation and the company hasn’t stopped reviewing options.

“When faced with the unfortunate decision that operations could no longer continue, the company communicated this fact to the residents and attempted to provide as much time as reasonably possible to allow for an orderly closure process,” he wrote. “This outcome is regrettable and unfortunate for the Company, the Jernigan family, and most importantly, the residents of HarborviewTowers. The Company will continue its efforts to explore all reasonable options available.”